The South Bristol URBAN II Programme is the most exciting and innovative of the 70 programmes running under the European Community's URBAN II initiative.
Based on an area of South Bristol roughly covering Knowle West, Hengrove, Whitchurch Park, Hartcliffe and Withywood, we have a £6.5m opportunity to make a difference to the lives and prospects of local people. We have already committed the majority of this money to a range of exciting projects and have until the end of 2007 to allocate the rest and to the end of 2008 to audit it and close down the programme. Together with the projects we fund, we have already achieved enormous success towards positive change in the area. View map of area (PDF file 226KB)
We do this by engaging the skills, enthusiasm and qualities of local young people. We believe that they are the future and as such, they should be the source of solutions to local issues. Too often, they are seen as the cause of problems, but they are often the victims of systemic failure that goes back across decades.
URBAN II is not an instant cure-all but our main aim is to help make south Bristol a better place to live, work, and be young.
So why are we so innovative? It's because we not only talk the talk, we walk the walk. Our steering committee, the Urban Partnership Group , consists of a majority of young people. Our current Chairperson, Michael Smith is 21 years old. Young people make the decisions, run the hard yards and (with the support of 'adult' partners, mentors and the Programme Staff) determine the way the Programme evolves. By enabling young people to influence local decision-making, URBAN is committed to increasing participation and empowerment
This makes us unique in Europe, and on the cutting edge of the European Community's policy towards real social inclusion.
Click here to find out more about the Bristol URBAN II Programme.
